Union overall garment construction



Feb. 12, 1952 J. F. REYNOLDS 2,585,840

UNION OVERALL GARMENT CONSTRUCTION Filed May 19, 1950 INVENTOR JOHN F. REYNOLDS ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 12, 1952 UNITE D PATENT OFFILC E UNION OVERAEE.GARMENTCONSTRUCTION John EJReynolds, Grinnell, Iowa Application Mayv 19, 1950, SeriaIZNo. 16,2;958

4 'Glaims'. 13

This invention relates to overall garments-of the union type.

It is an object of'the present inventionto provide means for opening the upper portion of a coverall garment so that" it'may-bemore easily donned and removed;

Itisalso an object of 'this invention to-provide means for opening the upper-portion of an overall garment without interfering with the usual upper front and collar" construction whereinitis adapted to have an upper-neck position-closely surrounding the neck of thewearer and alower or" open position" exposing the neck andupper chestof' the wearer sothat the collar and= upper frontforms a-lapel-like-structure-.

Another objectof this invention is to provide a unitary overall garment with means for three wearing positions, one with the collar closedas a-dress shirt, on=--with-the collar-openu'esembling a coat lapel, and 'a thirdcompl'etel-yopen position in which the coliaristhrown back to expose the upper chest and back ofthe-neckof the wearer.

These and other objects or theinvention will be readily apparent from the specification and drawings.

In the-drawings; Figure l is a perspective view of the garment with the-central openingand slits in an-open position.

Figure-2 is a perspective view ofthetop of-the garment with theslitsclosed and the collarin theupper or closedposition.

Figure-3 is aperspective view of the garment with theslits closed and thecollar in the-lower or open position.

Figure 4- isa perspective view of the garment with the collar completely thrown back.

In its broader'aspects, the present invention contemplates a unionall'.whichhaainaaddition to the usual front opening, a pair ofislits iorming a V at the upper portion thereof each of which is provided" with a separate fastening means so that the. garment may be; completely openatthe top. The enlarged .top opening-.'.allows one -.to;p.ass the garment over theshoulders.withoutxtheebody contortions necessary when removing or donning the unionall of conventional construction. A more specific advantage of -the instant invention liesinthe V-shaped-angleformed by the slits, which permits the upper front of the garment to be thrown back over the shoulders, back of the wearers neck to make an open front which exposes the upper chest, This critical arrangement of the slits has the additional advantage of placing their juncture at or below the lowest position to which the neck is opened for wear-in conventional garments so that any interferencewith the normalopening and closing'of the garmentatthe neck is avoided.

Lessgenerally; the present invention comprises a'unitary garment having-a crotch portion, shoulder-portions; a collar portion; and a front portion having a vertical closableopening extendingf-rom the collar toward the crotch, the improvement which comprises a pair of closable slitsin the saidfrontportion extending from the outer apex of each shoulder downwardly and-inwardly and meeting along said-opening between said collar and said crotch, said slitsdefining a V-shaped upper border for the front portion below said slits and defining a V-shaped lower border for anupper front portion'above said slits, said front portion above said slits being adapted tobe placed-downwardly behind the back portion of the garment when the slits are open.

More specifically; the invention includes the garment asdescribedabove wherein said pair of closable slits areeach defined by slide fasteners and wherein the-front portion above said slitsineludes overlapping portions along said closable opening; said portions'being adapted to'be fastened in the closed position of the collar and being adaptedto be folded in lapel fashion when the collar and the saidvertical opening are open to the juncture-of theslits in closed position.

Referring to, the drawings; there; is shown a preferred unitary garment" construction with legs ill, and arms"! I. A- central vertical front-opening -20 is'providedto extendfrom a crotch l2'to a collar I3. The opening 2c; is provided with a slide fastener or other fastenin elements, such as buttons orsnap fasteners- 21, The upper. portion 251a of *the. front is provided with overlapping portions ZZJalong the central opening. When the garment is in thetclosedneck'position of Figure 2, the overlappingportions 22 are adaptedto fipund'erneath. the collar l3? and be fastened; together by awbutton orv theliketo serve as aigarment front topclbsure. VWhen thegarment', is inthe open o position as shown in Figure 3; the overlapping, portions are, folded. backiover, the garment front. andhecomerthe. lower points. of a. lapel, the upper. points. of. which are formedby. thecollar points .A-- slititfi extending downwardly and, in.- wardly from the outer apex of each'shoulder M to a meeting position 49 along the upper part of the front vertical opening is provided at each side of the garment front so that the slits form a V-shape when the garment is in the closed 66 wearing position as shown in Figures 2 and. 3.

Each of these slits is provided with conventional slide fastener elements, zippers, for opening and closing,

The lower portion of the slits defines a V-shape which is the upper extent of the garment front in the wide open neck position shown in Figure 4.

The upper portion 30a of the slits defines the lower extent of a collar carrying portion 38b including the overlapping portions 22, which is adapted to be positioned behind the wearer in the wide open neck position of Figure 4.

The slits serve both the purpose of enabling ease of passing the garment over the shoulders and of providing an additional open position at the neck for the comfort and convenience of the wearer.

The bilaterally symmetrical slits may be positioned to extend from any part of the outer apex of the shoulders. In this preferred form of the invention, the slits extend from just short of the extreme outside of the shoulder apex with only a short shoulder portion beyond it for supporting the garment in the position of Figure 4.

In practice, the limits of the slit positioning with respect to the apex of the shoulder are determined by the practical consideration as to the ease of passing the garment over the shoulders and the slit will normally extend from the outer half of the shoulder apex. It is desirable to have the slit extend from the ver apex of the shoulder for maximum convenience in donning and removing the garment. However, the slit may extend from a point either slightly forward or rearward, preferably forward, from the apex to provide additional shoulder support for the garment as shown in Figure 4.

The preferred juncture of the slits is at the bottom of the lapel collar opening along the central front opening as shown in Figure 3. This position has the advantage of making the angle of the slits forming the V-shape lie at an angle of about one quadrant which is attractive to the eye and which meets the practical requirements of convenience and comfort under all conditions. Any raising of the point of juncture interferes with the neck position shown in Figure 3, by having the closure cross the lapel. If the point of juncture is lowered to or below the waist, the neck opening as shown in Figure 4 would be too large to be practical. Any positioning of the point of juncture of the slits between these extremes is within the scope of this invention. The preferred angle also has the advantage of extending the slide fastener along a line which is in the normal arc of an easy arm movement.

While the slide fastener elements shown in the present invention are not necessary to the function of this invention, they are articularly desirable and convenient in the slits at the top of the garment. It may be preferable to utilize buttons or snap fasteners in the vertical front closure inasmuch as buttons may be opened at fly without opening the entire garment; whereas, the slide fastener is not normally provided with structure for opening at the fly only.

Thus it will be seen that the present invention contemplates an improvement in a unitary overall garment having a conventional single vertical front opening which comprises the provision of a pair of closable slits, extending downwardly and inwardly from the outer apex of each shoulder to a meeting point along the front opening whereby the garment may have three neck positions varying from a closed collar position to an exposed chest position and whereby the garment may be passed over the shoulders of the wearer without the body contortions required in conventional garments of this type.

Obviously, modifications may be made in the present garment construction by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of this invention, and it is intended that all such modifications as come within the purview and scope of the present improvement as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a unitary garment having a crotch portion, shoulder portions, a collar portion, and a front portion having a vertical closable opening extending from the collar toward the crotch, that improvement which comprises a pair of closable slits in the said front portion extending from the outer apex of each shoulder downwardly and inwardly and meeting along said opening between said collar and said crotch, said slits defining a V-shaped upper border for the front portion below said slits and defining a V-shaped lower border for an upper front portion above said slits, the top of said slits at the apex of each shoulder serving to define the extremities of a fold line across the apex of the garment whereby said front portion above said slits is adapted to be placed downwardly behind the back portion of the garment when the slits are open.

2. The garment set forth in claim 1 wherein the front portion above said slits includes overlapping portions along said closable opening, said portions being adapted to be fastened in the closed position of the collar and being adapted to be folded in lapel fashion when the collar and the said vertical opening are open to the juncture of the slits in closed position.

3. The garment set forth in claim 1 wherein said pair of closable slits are each defined by slide fasteners.

4. The garment set forth in claim 1 wherein said pair of closable slits are each defined by slide fasteners and wherein the front portion above said slits includes overlapping portions along said closable opening, said portions being adapted to be fastened in the closed position of the collar and being adapted to be folded in lapel fashion when the collar and the said vertical opening are open to the juncture of the slits in closed position.

JOHN F. REYNOLDS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,667,220 Rifkin Apr. 24, 1928 2,291,861 Astrove Aug. 4, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 9,023 France Aug. 11, 1908 

